Russia expects contacts with ‘partner’ US on Syria to intensify

Moscow expects that contacts between Russia and the United States will be intensified in coming days, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said Friday.

“I think the contacts with our US partners will only intensify now, because not only Syria but other problem situations in the Middle East require more cohesion,” he told reporters.

Flights by US-led coalition aircraft over the de-escalation zones in Syria are being discussed by military officials, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister said. The safe zones which are being created in Syria will be closed for warplanes of the United States and those of the U.S.-led coalition, Russian news agencies quoted Russian envoy at Syria peace talks Alexander Lavrentyev as saying.

“These are issues that are being discussed at the level of our military,” Bogdanov told journalists.